Sharks spoil Hughes return in win against Devils

NEWARK, N.J. -- Jack Hughes did not score a point in his return to the New Jersey Devils, a 5-2 loss to the San Jose Sharks at Prudential Center on Tuesday.

Hughes, a center, missed 17 games because of a dislocated shoulder and signed an eight-year, $64 million contract earlier in the day. He had one shot on goal in 17:31 of ice time.
"I would have liked to play a little bit more to help my team win," Hughes said. "I got to produce and put the puck on net more. There are things I've got to sharpen up, but not much rust. I felt pretty good out there.
"Aside from the game, I'm really fortunate to be here for eight more years at least, and really thankful to (Devils co-managing partners) David Blitzer and Josh Harris, the ownership group and (general manager) Tom Fitzgerald. It's a really exciting day for my family and myself."
Timo Meier scored twice, and Noah Gregor had a goal and an assist for the Sharks (12-9-1), who have won two straight to begin a five-game road trip. James Reimer made 32 saves.
"It was a good game for us," Sharks coach Bob Boughner said. "I thought that we got some contributions throughout the lineup, which was nice, and some big goals, timely goals."

Mackenzie Blackwood made 26 saves for the Devils (9-7-4), who have lost three of four.
"Our puck play in general wasn't good, our attention to coming back and playing some defense obviously hurt us," New Jersey coach Lindy Ruff said. "They made some mistakes, and we let some good offensive opportunities just slip away. And the (mistakes) we made they took advantage of."
Gregor scored his first goal of the season to give the Sharks a 1-0 lead on a deflection from the slot at 4:26 of the first period.
Jake Middleton scored the first of three second-period goals by San Jose on a wrist shot from the left circle for a 2-0 lead at 4:14. The Sharks defenseman later blocked a pass attempt by Hughes to break up a 2-on-1 with Yegor Sharangovich at 8:52 of the second.
"All I can do is worry about myself," Hughes said. "There are a few things I need to sharpen up in my game and it's not fun losing, but the good thing is we got two more chances back-to-back coming up (at the Minnesota Wild on Thursday and at the Winnipeg Jets on Friday), so we'll put this one behind us and regroup.

"We've got to get better as a team. It's my first game back, but it's a wake-up call for myself and our team."
Meier made it 3-0 with a power-play goal at 10:49, and Erik Karlsson extended the lead 41 seconds later at 11:30 to make it 4-0.
Tomas Tatar cut it to 4-1 on a rebound from the slot at 9:12 of the third period, and Jesper Bratt scored from the left circle at 12:49 to make it 4-2.
"They made a push in the third, but all in all, those are two good road wins for us to start this road trip," Middleton said.

Meier scored an empty-net goal for his second of the game at 16:59 for the 5-2 final. He leads San Jose with 11 goals.
"[Meier's] been one of our best players all year and again tonight," Boughner said. "I like all the little things he's doing this season. One thing that we've talked about is the whole 200-foot game, and that has really improved. He's done a real good job of being a detail player."
Hughes played much of the game at left wing but was moved back to center in the third period.
"I thought there was some rust, obviously, with his puck play," Ruff said. "I think that was to be expected a little bit, but I thought at times he really skated well. Jack was in on some opportunities that he could have turned into goals and it just didn't happen."
NOTES: Sharks forward Lane Pederson returned after being out for eight games, including five because of a lower-body injury. He did not have a shot on goal in 11:13 of ice time. ... Meier needs one goal for 100 in his NHL career (334 games played). ... Tatar's goal ended Reimer's road shutout sequence at 128:03, the longest by a Sharks goaltender since Martin Jones went 174:33 from Oct. 7-16, 2015. ... Bratt extended his point streak to five games (two goals, five assists). … Defenseman Dougie Hamilton led the Devils with seven shots in 21:59.